Air conditioner

ABSTRACT

An air conditioner includes a dust collecting space so that foreign substances inside the air conditioner may be easily removed. The air conditioner includes a case, a front panel having a plurality of holes formed to discharge air to the front of the case, and a dust container provided inside the case to communicate with some of the plurality of holes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2015-0138173 and 10-2015-0166675, filed on Sep. 30, 2015 and Nov. 26, 2015 respectively, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner having a dust collecting space so that foreign substances inside the air conditioner may be easily removed.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, an air conditioner is an apparatus that uses a refrigeration cycle to adjust temperature, humidity level, air flow, air distribution, etc. to be suitable for human activity and to remove dust or the like in the air at the same time. A compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, a blower fan, etc. are included in the air conditioner as main elements forming the refrigeration cycle.

An air conditioner may be classified as a split type air conditioner in which an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are separately installed and an integrated type air conditioner in which an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are installed together in one cabinet. Of these, the indoor unit of the split type air conditioner includes a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with air suctioned into a panel and a blower fan configured to suction air from an indoor space into the panel and then blow the suctioned air back into the indoor space.

A conventional indoor unit of an air conditioner is manufactured in the form in which a heat exchanger is minimized in size and revolutions per minute (RPM) of a blower fan is increased to maximize air speed and air volume. Accordingly, discharge temperature decreases, and discharged air flows through a narrow, long flow channel to be discharged into an indoor space.

In addition, a filter configured to filter foreign substances in the air may be installed in an air conditioner so that, when the air conditioner operates, the foreign substances in the air are filtered by the filter, and an indoor space may be purified.

Meanwhile, foreign substances such as dust or flies that enter an air conditioner may degrade performance of the air conditioner.

SUMMARY

Additional aspects and/or advantages will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

Therefore, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide an air conditioner having a dust collecting space so that foreign substance inside the air conditioner may be easily removed.

It is another aspect of the present disclosure to provide an air conditioner in which, when foreign substances such as flies and dust have entered the air conditioner through a perforated front panel, the foreign substances may be easily removed.

It is yet another aspect of the present disclosure to provide an air conditioner in which a user may clean foreign substances off of the inside of the air conditioner from outside of the air conditioner.

It is still another aspect of the present disclosure to provide an air conditioner in which a cover is provided so that large foreign substances that have entered a discharger of the air conditioner may be cleaned when the air conditioner is disassembled.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner includes a case, a front panel having a plurality of holes formed to discharge air to the front of the case, and a dust container provided inside the case to communicate with some of the plurality of holes.

In addition, the air conditioner may include a guide panel configured to guide flow of air inside the case, and the dust container may be formed on at least a portion of a space between a lower portion of the guide panel and the front panel.

In addition, the guide panel may include a curved portion configured to guide foreign substances to the dust container.

In addition, the guide panel may further include an inclined portion having at least a portion formed inward.

In addition, the inclined portion may include one or more of a curved surface and a chamfer.

In addition, the guide panel may include a connector configured to connect the curved portion to the inclined portion, and the dust container may be provided between the front panel and the connector.

In addition, the dust container may include a dust inlet provided between the front panel and one end of the connector and a dust chamber provided between the front panel and the other end of the connector, and the size of the dust inlet gradually increases toward the dust chamber.

In addition, at least some of the plurality of holes may form a first discharger through which air is discharged, the rest of the plurality of holes may form a second discharger through which air is discharged, and the plurality of holes configured to form the first discharger and the second discharger may be formed in different sizes.

In addition, the second discharger may include one or more of a mesh and a porous material.

In addition, the air conditioner may include a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with air introduced into the case, and the first discharger may further include an opening-and-closing member provided so that the air which has been heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger may be selectively discharged.

In addition, the front panel may further include one or more slots connected to the dust container, formed at a bottom surface thereof.

In addition, the dust container may be provided between both sides of the guide panel and the front panel.

In addition, the dust container may further include a dust containing member provided to be detachable from the front panel.

In addition, the dust container may further include a cover provided to be detachable from the guide panel.

In addition, the curved portion may include a cover installation hole formed with at least a portion cut away so that the cover is detachably installed.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner includes a case, a front panel having one or more outlets formed on at least a portion of a front surface so that air may be selectively discharged to the front of the case and including a plurality of holes formed on surfaces where the outlets are not formed, a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with air introduced into the case, a guide panel configured to guide air which has been heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger, and a dust container provided between the front panel and the guide panel.

In addition, the dust container may be formed on at least a portion of a space between a lower portion of the guide panel and the front panel.

In addition, the dust container may be formed on at least a portion of a space between both sides of the guide panel and the front panel.

In addition, the guide panel may include a curved portion configured to guide foreign substances to the dust container.

In addition, the guide panel may include an inclined portion having at least a portion formed to be inclined inward.

In addition, the inclined portion may include one or more of a curved surface and a chamfer.

In addition, the front panel may further include one or more slots connected to the dust container, formed at a bottom surface thereof.

In addition, the dust container may further include a dust containing member provided to be detachable from the front panel.

In addition, the dust container may further include a cover provided to be detachable from the guide panel.

In addition, the cover may be provided at the curved portion.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner includes a case, a front panel having one or more outlets formed on at least a portion of a front surface so that air may be selectively discharged to the front of the case and including a plurality of holes formed on surfaces where the outlets are not formed, a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with air introduced into the case, a guide panel configured to guide air which has been heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger, a dust container provided between the front panel and the guide panel, and a cover detachably provided at the guide panel to communicate with the dust container.

In addition, the guide panel may include a curved portion configured to guide foreign substances to the dust container.

In addition, the cover may be provided at the curved portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A′ in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a front panel and a guide panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a dust container provided between the front panel and the guide panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion C of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views illustrating a cleaning operation through the dust container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views illustrating a cleaning operation through the dust container according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an operation of cleaning the air conditioner through the dust container according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of a cross-section taken along line D-D′ of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a view schematically illustrating a dust containing member of the air conditioner according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating an operation of the dust containing member of the air conditioner according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating the front panel and the guide panel of the air conditioner according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a view illustrating a cover installed at the guide panel according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view of the cover installed at the guide panel according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E′ of FIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present disclosure by referring to the figures.

Embodiments disclosed herein and elements illustrated in the drawings are merely exemplary examples of the present disclosure, and various modified examples that may substitute for the embodiments and the drawings of the present disclosure may be present at the time of applying the present application.

In addition, the same reference numerals or marks used throughout the drawings of the present disclosure represent parts or elements performing substantially the same functions.

In addition, terms used herein are used for describing embodiments and are not intended to restrict and/or limit the present disclosure. A singular expression includes a plural meaning unless clearly defined otherwise in the context. In the present disclosure, terms such as “include” and “have” are to designate that a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a part used herein or a combination thereof exists and do not preclude existence of or a possibility of adding one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof.

In addition, terms including ordinal numbers such as “first” and “second” may be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited by the terms, and the terms are only used for a purpose of distinguishing one element from another element. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and, likewise, a second element may also be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The term “and/or” includes a combination of a plurality of listed related items or any one item among the plurality of listed related items.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A refrigeration cycle forming an air conditioner includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator. The refrigeration cycle includes a series of processes formed of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation, exchanges heat between high-temperature air and a low-temperature refrigerant, and supplies low-temperature air to an indoor space.

The compressor compresses refrigerant gas to a high-temperature, high-pressure state and discharges the refrigerant gas, and the discharged refrigerant gas is introduced into the condenser. The condenser condenses the compressed refrigerant to a liquid state and emits heat to surroundings through a condensation process. The expansion valve expands the liquid refrigerant in the high-temperature, high-pressure state condensed by the condenser to a liquid refrigerant in a low-pressure state. The evaporator evaporates the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve. The evaporator achieves a refrigeration effect by exchanging heat with an object to be cooled using evaporative latent heat of the refrigerant and returns the refrigerant gas in the low-temperature, low-pressure state to the compressor. Air temperature of an indoor space may be adjusted through this cycle.

An outdoor unit of the air conditioner refers to a part having the compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger of the refrigeration cycle. The expansion valve may be placed in any one of an indoor unit or the outdoor unit, and an indoor heat exchanger is placed in the indoor unit of the air conditioner.

The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner for cooling an indoor space. An outdoor heat exchanger serves as a condenser, and an indoor heat exchanger serves as an evaporator. Hereinafter, an indoor unit including the indoor heat exchanger will be referred to as an air conditioner, and the indoor heat exchanger will be referred to as a heat exchanger for convenience.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A′ in FIG. 1.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, an air conditioner 1 includes a case 10 configured to form an exterior and a front panel 20 coupled to a front portion of the case 10 to form a front surface of the air conditioner 1.

A heat exchanger 80 configured to exchange heat with air introduced into the case 10 and an air blower 70 configured to forcibly circulate air toward inside or outside of the case 10 are disposed inside the case 10.

The case 10 may have a hexahedral shape with an open front surface and may include a rear panel 10 b disposed at a rear portion, side panels 10 c configured to form left and right surfaces, and an upper panel 10 a and a lower panel 10 d respectively provided at upper and lower portions of the side panels 10 c. The open front surface of the case 10 may be a curved surface with a protruding front portion and may be formed in a substantially circular shape.

The front panel 20 may include a first front panel 21 installed at a lower side of the front surface of the case 10 and a second front panel 22 installed at an upper side of the front surface of the case 10. Although the front panel 20 being formed of the first front panel 21 and the second front panel 22 separately installed at the lower side and the upper side, respectively, is illustrated as an example in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the spirit of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the front panel may also be formed with a single panel having a size and shape corresponding to the front surface of the case.

The first front panel 21 may be provided at the lower side of the front surface of the case 10 to form the exterior of the case 10. The second front panel 22 may be provided to form a part of the front surface of the case 10 and discharge heat-exchanged air at the same time.

The second front panel 22 may include a first discharger 40 and a second discharger 50 through which heat-exchanged air inside the case 10 is discharged.

A suctioner 11 is formed at the rear panel 10 b so that air in an indoor space outside the air conditioner 1 may be suctioned into the case 10. The suctioner 11 is provided on the rear panel 10 b disposed behind the heat exchanger 80 to allow air introduced into the case 10 to absorb or take away heat while passing through the heat exchanger 80. The air heat-exchanged while passing through the heat exchanger 80 may be discharged to the outside of the case 10 by the air blower 70.

The air blower 70 may include a blower fan 72 and a blower grille 74.

The blower grille 74 may be provided in a discharging direction of the blower fan 72. Although a mixed-flow fan is applied as the blower fan 72 in the embodiment, the type of the blower fan 72 is not limited thereto. Any fan may be applied as the blower fan 72 so long as the fan flows air introduced from the outside of the case 10 to allow the air to be discharged back to the outside of the case 10. For example, the blower fan 72 may be a cross fan, a turbo fan, or a sirocco fan. Here, the number of blower fans 72 is not limited, and one or more blower fans 72 may be provided to correspond to one or more openings in the embodiment. The blower fan 72 may be disposed in front of the suctioner 11, and the heat exchanger 80 may be disposed between the blower fan 72 and the suctioner 11. The first discharger 40 may be disposed in front of the blower fan 72.

The air blower 70 may be provided at a central portion of the blower fan 72 and may include a fan driver 73 provided for driving the blower fan 72. The fan driver 73 may include a motor.

The blower grille 74 is disposed in front of the blower fan 72 and is provided to guide flow of air. The blower grille 74 may also be disposed between the blower fan 72 and the front panel 20 to minimize influence from the outside on the blower fan 72.

The blower grille 74 may include a plurality of wings 75. The number, shape, arrangement angles of the plurality of wings 75 may be adjusted. By adjusting the plurality of wings 75, a direction or volume of air blown from the blower fan 72 to the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50 of the front panel 20 may be adjusted.

An opening-and-closing member operator 35 to be described below may be disposed at a central portion of the blower grille 74. The opening-and-closing member operator 35 and the fan driver 73 may be disposed on the same line in front and rear directions. In this way, the plurality of wings 75 of the blower grille 74 may be disposed in front of fan-wings of the blower fan 72.

The air blower 70 may further include a duct 76. The duct 76 is provided in a circular shape surrounding the blower fan 72 and is provided to guide flow of air flowing to the blower fan 72. That is, the duct 76 guides air that has been suctioned by the suctioner 11 and has passed through the heat exchanger 80 to flow to the blower fan 72.

The heat exchanger 80 is disposed between the blower fan 72 and the suctioner 11. The heat exchanger 80 absorbs heat from air introduced through the suctioner 11 or transfers heat to the air introduced through the suctioner 11. The heat exchanger 80 may include a tube 81 and a header 82 coupled to upper and lower sides of the tube 81. The number of heat exchangers 80 disposed inside the case 10 may be one or more to correspond to the number of first dischargers 40. Meanwhile, the heat-exchanged air inside the case 10 may be discharged to the outside of the case 10 through the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50 of the second front panel 22.

The heat-exchanged air may be discharged through the first discharger 40, the second discharger 50, or both of the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50.

The first discharger 40 is provided at a first outlet 41 formed at each of upper and lower sides of the second front panel 22 and between the upper side and the lower side. Here, although an example in which three first dischargers 40 are provided has been illustrated in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the spirit of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The first discharger 40 may also be formed to correspond to the number of the blower fans 72 inside the case 10.

In addition, an opening-and-closing member 30 may be installed at the first discharger 40 to selectively open or close the first outlet 41.

The second discharger 50 may be provided so that the heat-exchanged air is discharged through a plurality of holes 51 formed at the second front panel 22. The second discharger 50 may include the plurality of holes 51 formed to pass through inner and outer surfaces of the second front panel 22.

Specifically, an operation of the air conditioner 1 may be described as below. The air conditioner 1 may include a plurality of operation modes. The plurality of operation modes may include a first mode of discharging heat-exchanged air through the first discharger 40, a second mode of discharging the heat-exchanged air through the second discharger 50, and a third mode of discharging the heat-exchanged air through both of the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50.

The first mode, the second mode, and the third mode are provided to discharge the heat-exchanged air through the first discharger 40, the second discharger 50, which will be described below, and both of the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50, respectively. That is, the air which has been heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger 80 may be discharged to the outside of the air conditioner 1 through the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50.

In the first mode, the heat-exchanged air is discharged through the first discharger 40. Here, instead of the whole heat-exchanged air being discharged only through the first discharger 40, some of the heat-exchanged air may be discharged also through the second discharger 50. That is, in the first mode, most of the heat-exchanged air may be discharged through the first discharger 40, and at least some of the heat-exchanged air may be discharged through the second discharger 50. Likewise, in the second mode, although most of the heat-exchanged air is discharged through the second discharger 50, at least some of the heat-exchanged air may be discharged through the first discharger 40.

The air that has passed through the air blower 70 may be discharged through one or more of the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50. Furthermore, the heat-exchanged air may also be selectively discharged through any one of the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50.

The first discharger 40 is provided to discharge air through the first outlet 41 of the second front panel 22. When the air conditioner 1 operates in the first mode, the heat-exchanged air may be discharged to the outside of the case 10 through the first discharger 40. The first discharger 40 is provided in an air blowing direction of the blower fan 72 to allow the heat-exchanged air to be directly discharged to the outside of the case 10. That is, the first discharger 40 is provided in front of the blower fan 72 of the air blower 70 to allow the air blown from the air blower 70 to be directly discharged through the first discharger 40.

The air blown by the blower fan 72 flows through a first discharge flow channel 40 a formed between the blower fan 72 and the first discharger 40. The first discharge flow channel 40 a is provided to be formed by a discharge guide 90.

The discharge guide 90 is provided in front of the air blower 70 and is provided so that air flowing from the air blower 70 may flow through one or more discharge flow channels of the first discharge flow channel 40 a and a second discharge flow channel 50 a.

The discharge guide 90 may include a guide body 93 and a guide groove 92.

The guide body 93 is provided to have the first discharge flow channel 40 a formed inside thereof. The guide body 93 may be provided in a hollow cylindrical shape. Specifically, the guide body 93 may be provided in a tubular shape having one side facing the air blower 70 and the other side facing the first discharger 40.

The guide groove 92 is formed so that the second discharge flow channel 50 a passes therethrough. The guide groove 92 may be provided on the guide body 93. The shape of the guide groove 92 is not limited so long as the shape of the guide groove 92 provided on the guide body 93 allows air to flow to outside of the guide body 93. In the embodiment, the guide groove may be provided to include a plurality of holes formed along a circumference of the guide body.

The first discharger 40 may be formed by a guide opening 91. The guide opening 91 may be provided to be connected to the first outlet 41 and may be provided to have the first discharger 40 formed along an inner circumferential surface thereof. The guide opening 91 may be provided to be exposed outside through the first outlet 41, and the opening-and-closing member 30 to be described below may move and be seated on the guide opening 91.

The first discharger 40 may be opened and closed by the opening-and-closing member 30. The opening-and-closing member 30 is provided to open and close the first outlet 41 and allow the heat-exchanged air to be selectively discharged to the outside of the case 10 through the first discharger 40.

The opening-and-closing member 30 may control the heat-exchanged air to flow to one or more dischargers of the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50 by opening and closing the first discharger 40.

The opening-and-closing member 30 may be provided to move between an opening position for opening the first discharger 40 (refer to dotted lines in FIG. 3) and a closing position for closing the first discharger 40 (refer to solid lines in FIG. 3). The opening-and-closing member 30 may include an opening-and-closing blade 31 and the opening-and-closing member operator 35 configured to operate the opening-and-closing blade 31.

The opening-and-closing blade 31 may be formed in a circular shape to correspond to the shape of the first discharger 40. The opening-and-closing blade 31 is provided to be spaced apart from the guide opening 91 when the opening-and-closing member 30 is at the opening position, and the opening-and-closing blade 31 is provided to be in contact with the guide opening 91 and close the first outlet 41 when the opening-and-closing member 30 is at the closing position. The opening-and-closing blade 31 may be provided in a circular shape to correspond to the first discharger 40 and may include a blade coupler 32 configured to extend behind the opening-and-closing blade 31 to be coupled to the opening-and-closing member operator 35.

The opening-and-closing blade 31 may have a substantially circular plate shape in which one side surface is provided to face the outside of the case 10 and the other side surface is provided to face the air blower 70.

Here, the opening-and-closing member operator 35 may be provided to make the opening-and-closing blade 31 movable. The opening-and-closing member operator 35 may include a motor (not illustrated). The opening-and-closing member operator 35 may be coupled to the blade coupler 32 of the opening-and-closing blade 31 to move the opening-and-closing blade 31.

The second discharger 50 may include the plurality of holes 51. The second discharger 50 may include one or more of a mesh and a porous material. The second front panel 22 including the second discharger 50 may include one or more of a mesh and a porous material. Any one of mesh and porous material may be formed on at least a portion of the second front panel 22 or the entire second front panel 22.

Consequently, when the air conditioner 1 operates in the second mode, the heat-exchanged air may be discharged to the outside of the case 10 through the second discharger 50. In this way, the speed of the heat-exchanged air may be decreased, and the heat-exchanged air may be gently discharged to the outside of the case 10.

When the heat-exchanged air is discharged to the outside of the case 10 through the second discharger 50, the air blown by the blower fan 72 may flow through the second discharge flow channel 50 a formed between the blower fan 72 and the second discharger 50. The second discharge flow channel 50 a may be formed by the discharge guide 90 and the plurality of holes 51 of the second discharger 50.

A guide panel 60 may be provided inside the case 10 to guide flow of air through the second discharge flow channel 50 a. The guide panel 60 may be provided to divide the second discharge flow channel 50 a from the inside of the case 10. The guide panel 60 may prevent the heat-exchanged air from being introduced again into the case 10. In the embodiment, the guide panel may be provided to extend from the blower grille to be connected to the second front panel 22.

The second discharger 50 may include an area of the second front panel 22 excluding the area where the first discharger 40 is formed. The plurality of holes 51 may be uniformly distributed or may also be densely provided on at least a portion of the second discharger 50. The shape of the second discharger 50 is not limited, but an example in which the plurality of holes are uniformly distributed throughout the second discharger 50 is illustrated in the embodiment.

Meanwhile, when the air conditioner 1 operates in the third mode, the heat-exchanged air may be discharged by being distributed to the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50. An amount of the heat-exchanged air distributed to each of the dischargers may be determined by settings or may also be adjusted by a controller (not illustrated).

The air blown by the blower fan 72 may flow to the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50 through one or more flow channels of the first discharge flow channel 40 a and the second discharge flow channel 50 a.

Here, the opening-and-closing member 30 opens the first discharger 40 in the first mode. In this case, the air blown from the air blower 70 passes through the first discharge flow channel 40 a formed inside of the guide body 93 and is discharged through the first discharger 40.

In addition, the opening-and-closing member 30 closes the first discharger 40 in the second mode. In this case, one side of the guide body 93 is blocked by the opening-and-closing member 30, and the air blown from the air blower 70 passes through the guide groove 92 formed on the guide body 93 and is discharged through the second discharger 50.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a front panel and a guide panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a dust container provided between the front panel and the guide panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion C of FIG. 5, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are views illustrating a cleaning operation through the dust container according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 8, the second front panel 22 may include a coupler 22 a to couple the second front panel 22 to the case 10. The coupler 22 a may be provided at each of the upper and lower ends of the second front panel 22. Although an example in which the coupler 22 a is formed at each of the upper and lower ends of the second front panel 22 is illustrated in the embodiment, the spirit of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, one or more couplers may also be formed along an outer boundary of the second front panel. The number of couplers is not limited.

Like the second discharger 50 of the second front panel 22, the upper and lower ends of the second front panel 22 at which the coupler 22 a is formed may also include one or more of a mesh and a porous material including the plurality of holes 51.

The guide panel 60 may be disposed behind the second front panel 22 to form the second discharge flow channel 50 a.

The guide panel 60 is provided to divide the second discharge flow channel 50 a from the inside of the case 10. The guide panel 60 includes a flow channel forming surface 66 to form the second discharge flow channel 50 a. A discharge guide installer 65 for installing the discharge guide 90 may be formed at the flow channel forming surface 66. The discharge guide installer 65 may be formed in a size and shape corresponding to the discharge guide 90 and the blower fan 72.

Meanwhile, a dust container 100 in which foreign substances such as dust or flies introduced into the case 10 through the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50 of the second front panel 22 are contained may be provided between the second front panel 22 and the guide panel 60.

The dust container 100 may be provided between the second front panel 22 and the guide panel 60. The dust container 100 may be formed on at least a portion of a space between the second front panel 22 and the guide panel 60. The dust container 100 may be formed at a lower portion of the space between the second front panel 22 and the guide panel 60.

Here, the dust container 100 is provided to be connected to at least a portion of the second discharger 50 of the second front panel 22. The dust container 100 may be provided to be connected to at least a portion of the plurality of holes 51 of the second front panel 22. Dust and foreign substances in the dust container 100 connected to at least a portion of the plurality of holes 51 of the second front panel 22 may be discharged to the outside of the second front panel 22 through the plurality of holes 51. The dust and the foreign substances in the dust container 100 may be removed by suctioning from the outside of the second front panel 22, using a separate suctioning device such as a vacuum cleaner 200.

A user may easily remove dust and foreign substances inside the case 10 from the outside of the case 10 through the second front panel 22 of the air conditioner 1.

Meanwhile, at least a portion of the guide panel 60 may include a curved portion 61 to guide the dust and the foreign substances inside the case 10 toward the dust container 100.

The curved portion 61 of the guide panel 60 may be formed at a lower portion of the flow channel forming surface 66. The lower portion of the flow channel forming surface 66 may be formed as a curved surface protruding toward the lower front portion so that the dust and the foreign substances are introduced into the second front panel 22. Although an example in which the curved portion is only formed at the lower portion of the guide panel is illustrated in the embodiment, the spirit of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the curved portion may also be formed on at least a portion of an upper portion and a central portion of the guide panel.

A connector 63 configured to extend from the curved portion 61 of the guide panel 60 forms a space between the connector 63 and the lower portion of the second front panel 22. The dust container 100 may include at least a portion of the space between the connector 63 and the lower portion of the second front panel 22.

In addition, the guide panel 60 may further include an inclined portion 62 having at least a portion formed toward an inside of the case 10. The inclined portion 62 is connected to the curved portion 61 by the connector 63.

The inclined portion 62 may be formed to be disposed more inward in the case 10 than the connector 63. The inclined portion 62 may include any one of a curved surface and a chamfer.

The connector 63 includes a first connector 63 a at one side connected to the curved portion 61 and a connector 63 b at the other side connected to the inclined portion 62. The first connector 63 a of the connector 63 may be disposed above the second connector 63 b.

Meanwhile, the dust container 100 may include a dust inlet 101 and a dust chamber 102 formed connected to the dust inlet 101.

The dust inlet 101 may be provided between the second front panel 22 and the connector 63. The dust inlet 101 is formed to allow dust and foreign substances inside the case 10 to be introduced into the dust container 100 through a portion between the lower portion of the second front panel 22 and the first connector 63 a of the connector 63.

The dust and the foreign substances introduced into the dust container 100 through the dust inlet 101 may be stored in the dust chamber 102. The dust chamber 102 may be formed by the lower portion of the second front panel 22, the second connector 63 b of the connector, and the inclined portion 62.

Here, the dust chamber 102 may be formed larger than the dust inlet 101. For example, the dust inlet 101 may be formed with a size corresponding to a first distance d1 between the second front panel 22 and the first connector 63 a, and the dust chamber 102 may be formed with a size corresponding to a second distance d2 between the second front panel 22 and the inclined portion 62. Here, the first distance d1 may be shorter than the second distance d2. Consequently, the size of the dust chamber 102 may be larger than the size of the dust inlet 101. Although an example in which the dust inlet 101 is formed vertically extending with a uniform thickness from an end of the curved portion 61 is illustrated in the embodiment, the dust inlet 101 may also be gradually inclined toward the inside of the case 10 downward and may be formed gradually larger toward the lower side of the dust inlet 101. That is, the connector may also be integrally formed with the inclined portion by having a predetermined slope.

Meanwhile, the dust and the foreign substances stored in the dust chamber 102 of the dust container 100 through the dust inlet 101 may be easily removed from the outside of the case 10 through the plurality of holes 51 of the second front panel 22.

Here, by operating the vacuum cleaner 200 from an outer lower portion of the second front panel 22 as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the first front panel 21 does not have to be separated from the case 10 for removing the dust and the foreign substances inside the case 10. Thus, usability may be improved.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views illustrating a cleaning operation through the dust container according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Refer to FIGS. 1 to 8 for unmarked elements.

As illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, a second front panel 22A may include the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50. One or more first dischargers 40 are formed at the second front panel 22A to allow air which has been heat-exchanged by the opening-and-closing member 30 to be selectively discharged.

The second discharger 50 may include the plurality of holes 51 formed at the second front panel 22A. The plurality of holes 51 may be formed at a front surface of the second front panel 22A. The second front panel 22A may form an edge portion 22Ab extending from the boundaries in four directions. The edge portion 22Ab may be bent toward the inside of the case 10. A coupler 22Aa for assembling the case 10 to the guide panel 60 may be formed at the edge portion 22Ab. The edge portion 22Ab may form an upper surface, a lower surface, and left and right side surfaces of the second front panel 22A.

A slot 110A connected to the dust container 100 may be formed at the edge portion 22Ab of the second front panel 22A. One or more slots 110A may be formed. The one or more slots 110A may be formed at the edge portion 22Ab forming the lower surface of the second front panel 22A.

The dust container 100 formed on at least a portion between the second front panel 22A and the guide panel 60 may be provided to be connected to the slot 110A at the edge portion 22Ab forming the lower surface of the second front panel 22A.

In addition, a plurality of holes may also be formed at the edge portion 22Ab of the second front panel 22A.

Consequently, when removing the dust and the foreign substances inside the case 10, the user may remove the first front panel 21 and remove dust and foreign substances in the dust container 100 using a suctioning device such as the vacuum cleaner 200 at the edge portion 22Ab at the lower surface of the second front panel 22A and the slot 110A.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an operation of cleaning the air conditioner through the dust container according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of a cross-section taken along line D-D′ of FIG. 11. Refer to FIGS. 1 to 8 for unmarked elements.

As illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the air conditioner 1 includes the case 10 configured to form an exterior and the front panel 20 coupled to a front portion of the case 10 to form a front surface of the air conditioner 1.

The front panel 20 may include the first front panel 21 installed at the lower side of the front surface of the case 10 and the second front panel 22 installed at the upper side of the front surface of the case 10.

The second front panel 22 may include the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50. One or more first dischargers 40 are formed at the second front panel 22 to allow air which has been heat-exchanged by the opening-and-closing member 30 to be selectively discharged.

The second discharger 50 may include the plurality of holes 51 formed at the second front panel 22. The plurality of holes 51 may be formed at the front surface of the second front panel 22.

A guide panel 60B may be formed behind the second front panel 22 to form a discharge flow channel.

In addition, a dust container 100B configured to contain foreign substances such as dust and flies introduced into the case 10 through the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50 of the second front panel 22 may be provided between the second front panel 22 and the guide panel 60B.

The dust container 100B may be provided between the second front panel 22 and the guide panel 60B. The dust container 100B may be formed on at least a portion of a space between a side surface of the second front panel 22 and a side surface of the guide panel 60B. The dust container 100B may be formed at both sides of a space between the second front panel 22 and the guide panel 60B.

A curved portion 61B, a connector 63B, and an inclined portion 62B may be formed at both edges of the guide panel 60B. The dust container 100B in which dust and foreign substances are contained may be formed on at least a portion between the connector 63B and the inclined portion 62B of the guide panel 60B and the second front panel 22.

The dust container 100B may be connected to the plurality of holes 51 of the second front panel 22.

Consequently, the user may easily remove the dust and the foreign substances inside the case 10 by suctioning using a suctioning device such as the vacuum cleaner 200 from the outside of the case 10 through a side surface of the second front panel 22.

FIG. 13 is a view schematically illustrating a dust containing member of the air conditioner according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 14 is a view illustrating an operation of the dust containing member of the air conditioner according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Refer to FIGS. 1 to 8 for unmarked elements.

As illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, a dust container 100C of the air conditioner 1 may further include a dust containing member 130C.

The dust container 100C may be provided between a second front panel 22C and the guide panel 60. The dust container 100C may be formed at a lower portion of a space between the second front panel 22C and the guide panel 60. The dust container 100C is provided to be connected to at least a portion of the second discharger 50 of the second front panel 22C. The dust container 100C may be provided to be connected to at least a portion of the plurality of holes 51 of the second front panel 22C.

The dust containing member 130C may be provided at the dust container 100C.

The dust container 100C may include a dust inlet 101C and a dust chamber 102C. The dust inlet 101C may be provided between the second front panel 22C and the connector 63. The dust inlet 101C is formed to allow the dust and the foreign substances inside the case 10 to be introduced into the dust container 100C through a portion between the lower portion of the second front panel 22C and the connector 63.

The dust and the foreign substances introduced into the dust container 100C through the dust inlet 101C may be stored in the dust chamber 102C. The dust chamber 102C may be formed by the lower portion of the second front panel 22C and the inclined portion 62.

Meanwhile, the dust containing member 130C may be provided at the dust chamber 102C. The dust containing member 130C may be installed to be detachable from the second front panel 22C. The dust containing member 130C may be installed at the lower end of the second front panel 22C to be detachable toward the front. The dust containing member 130C is provided to be slidable from the second front panel 22C. The dust containing member 130C is movably supported by an edge portion 22Cb forming a lower surface of the second front panel 22C. A dust containing member installer 22Ca formed to allow the dust containing member 130C to be detachably mounted may be formed at the lower end of the second front panel 22C. The dust containing member installer 22Ca may be formed by penetrating through the lower portion of the second front panel 22C in a horizontal longitudinal direction of the air conditioner 1.

The dust containing member 130C may be formed substantially in the form of a drawer, may be formed in the shape corresponding to the shape of the dust chamber 102C, and may include a handle 131C formed at a front portion for a sliding movement of the dust containing member 130C. At least a portion of the dust containing member 130C is exposed to the outside of the second front panel 22C so that the user may separate the dust containing member 130C toward the outside of the second front panel 22C.

Consequently, when dust and foreign substances are formed in the dust container 100C, the user may remove the dust and the foreign substances by moving and separating the dust containing member 130C toward the front of the second front panel 22C, from the dust container 100C.

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating the front panel and the guide panel of the air conditioner according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 16 is a view illustrating a cover installed at the guide panel according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view of the cover installed at the guide panel according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E′ of FIG. 15. Refer to FIGS. 1 to 8 for unmarked elements.

As illustrated in FIGS. 15 to 18, the dust container 100 may further include a cover 140D.

The cover 140D of the dust container 100 may be installed at the guide panel 60 provided to form a discharge flow channel behind the second front panel 22.

The guide panel 60 is provided to divide the second discharge flow channel 50 a from the inside of the case 10. The guide panel 60 includes the flow channel forming surface 66 for forming the second discharge flow channel 50 a. The discharge guide installer 65 for installing the discharge guide 90 may be formed at the flow channel forming surface 66. The discharge guide installer 65 may be formed in a size and shape corresponding to the discharge guide 90 and the blower fan 72.

The dust container 100 in which foreign substances such as dust or flies introduced into the case 10 through the first discharger 40 and the second discharger 50 of the second front panel 22 are contained may be provided between the second front panel 22 and the guide panel 60.

In addition, the curved portion 61 may be formed on at least a portion of the guide panel 60 to guide dust and foreign substances inside the case 10 toward the dust container 100. The curved portion 61 of the guide panel 60 may be formed at a lower portion of the flow channel forming surface 66. The lower portion of the flow channel forming surface 66 may be formed as a curved surface protruding toward the lower front portion so that the dust and the foreign substances are introduced into the second front panel 22.

The dust container 100 may further include the cover 140D provided to remove foreign substances when foreign substances having a size similar to that of a ballpoint pen or a coin are forcibly introduced into the first outlet 41.

The cover 140D may be installed at the curved portion 61 of the guide panel 60. A cover installation hole 141D for installing the cover 140D may be formed at the curved portion 61 of the guide panel 60. The cover 140D is provided to be coupled or separated from the rear of the cover installation hole 141D toward the front.

The cover installation hole 141D is formed to penetrate through a front portion and a rear portion of the guide panel 60 due to at least a portion of the curved portion 61 being cut away. Consequently, foreign substances contained in the dust container 100 may be collected through the cover installation hole 141D opened by separating the cover 140D.

The cover 140D may be detachably coupled to the cover installation hole 141D. The cover 140D may be formed in a size and shape corresponding to the cover installation hole 141D.

The cover 140D may be detachably coupled to the cover installation hole 141D through a cover supporter 144D and a cover coupler 143D.

The cover supporter 144D may include a cover support 144Da formed to protrude upward from the lower end of the cover installation hole 141D and a cover supporting protrusion 144Db formed to protrude from the lower end of the cover 140D.

One end of the cover support 144Da is fixed to the cover installation hole 141D, and the other end thereof is formed as a free end so that the cover supporting protrusion 144Db may be elastically supported by the cover support 144Da.

The cover coupler 143D is provided to couple the cover 140D, whose lower end is supported by the cover supporter 144D, to the cover installation hole 141D. The cover coupler 143D may include a first cover coupler 143Da formed at an upper side of the cover installation hole 141D and a second cover coupler 143Db formed at an upper portion of the cover 140D.

Consequently, the cover 140D, whose lower end is temporarily fixed by the cover supporter 144D, may be coupled to the cover installation hole 141D by the second cover coupler 143Db being coupled to the first cover coupler 143Da of the cover installation hole 141D.

Here, a handle 145D to allow the user to easily couple or separate the cover 140D to or from the cover installation hole 141D may be provided at an upper portion of an outer circumferential surface of the cover 140D. The handle 145D may protrude from an outer surface of the cover 140D.

In addition, the cover 140D may include a cover assembly preventer 145Da provided to support the cover 140D from the outside of the cover installation hole 141D so that the cover 140D does not enter the cover installation hole 141D. The cover assembly preventer 145Da is provided to prevent incorrect assembly of the cover 140D and the cover installation hole 141D. Foreign substances of a predetermined size or larger that enter the air conditioner 1 may be easily removed by separating the cover 140D formed at the guide panel 60 from the cover installation hole 141D.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner has a dust collecting space so that foreign substances inside the air conditioner can be easily removed. Foreign substances such as flies and dust can be cleaned through a perforated front panel.

In addition, a user can clean foreign substances off of the inside of the air conditioner from outside of the air conditioner, thereby improving convenience of use.

Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above to assist an understanding of the present disclosure. However, as it may be recognized by those or ordinary skill in the art, the present disclosure is not limited by the particular embodiments described herein but may be modified, changed, and substituted in various ways within the scope not departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An air conditioner comprising: a case; a front panel having a plurality of holes formed to discharge air to a front of the case; and a dust container provided inside the case to communicate with some of the plurality of holes.
 2. The air conditioner of claim 1, further comprising a guide panel configured to guide a flow of air inside the case, wherein the dust container is formed on at least a portion of a space between a lower portion of the guide panel and the front panel.
 3. The air conditioner of claim 2, wherein the guide panel includes a curved portion configured to guide foreign substances to the dust container.
 4. The air conditioner of claim 3, wherein the guide panel further includes an inclined portion having at least a portion formed inward.
 5. The air conditioner of claim 4, wherein the inclined portion includes at least one of a curved surface and a chamfer.
 6. The air conditioner of claim 4, wherein: the guide panel further includes a connector configured to connect the curved portion to the inclined portion; and the dust container is provided between the front panel and the connector.
 7. The air conditioner of claim 6, wherein the dust container includes: a dust inlet provided between the front panel and a first end of the connector; and a dust chamber provided between the front panel and a second end of the connector, wherein the size of the dust inlet gradually increases toward the dust chamber.
 8. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein: at least some of the plurality of holes form a first discharger through which air is discharged; the rest of the plurality of holes form a second discharger through which air is discharged; and the plurality of holes configured to form the first discharger are a different size than the plurality of holes configured to form the second discharger.
 9. The air conditioner of claim 8, wherein the second discharger includes at least one of a mesh and a porous material.
 10. The air conditioner of claim 8, further comprising a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with air introduced into the case, wherein the first discharger further includes an opening-and-closing member provided to allow the air which has been heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger to be selectively discharged.
 11. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the front panel further includes at least one slot connected to the dust container, and formed at a bottom surface thereof.
 12. The air conditioner of claim 2, wherein the dust container is provided between both sides of the guide panel and the front panel.
 13. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein the dust container further includes a dust containing member detachable from the front panel.
 14. The air conditioner of claim 3, wherein the dust container further includes a cover detachable from the guide panel.
 15. The air conditioner of claim 14, wherein the curved portion includes a cover installation hole formed with at least a portion cut away to allow the cover to be detachably installed.
 16. An air conditioner comprising: a case; a front panel having at least one outlet formed on at least a portion of a front surface of the front panel to allow air to be selectively discharged to a front of the case and including a plurality of holes formed on surfaces where the outlets are not formed; a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with air introduced into the case; a guide panel configured to guide air which has been heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger; and a dust container provided between the front panel and the guide panel.
 17. The air conditioner of claim 16, wherein the dust container is formed on at least a portion of a space between a lower portion of the guide panel and the front panel.
 18. The air conditioner of claim 16, wherein the dust container is formed on at least a portion of a space between both sides of the guide panel and the front panel.
 19. The air conditioner of claim 16, wherein the guide panel includes a curved portion configured to guide foreign substances to the dust container.
 20. An air conditioner comprising: a case; a front panel having at least one outlet formed on at least a portion of a front surface to allow air to be selectively discharged to a front of the case and including a plurality of holes formed on surfaces where the outlets are not formed; a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with air introduced into the case; a guide panel configured to guide air which has been heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger; a dust container provided between the front panel and the guide panel; and a cover detachably provided at the guide panel to communicate with the dust container. 